Food Feature Articles

Food Feature Articles

Franchise Sector Showcase

Informative Food franchise articles to support business buyers, franchisees, and franchisors.

Greg Hamer, Sr., worked in the oilfield service industry for two decades before dipping his toe into franchising. He knows about hard work and about managing assets. Today, he is the largest Taco Bell franchisee in the state of Louisiana. Hamer has operated B&G Food Enterprises out of Morgan City, La., since opening that first Taco Bell unit in 1982. In the 1990's, the company added KFC and Pizza Hut units to the portfolio and most recently, Teriyaki Experience.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 4,885 Reads 21 Shares
Innovative franchisors seeking to expand their offerings and attract a new pool of franchisees are breaking with tradition and instituting new ideas. Here are a few ideas that have proven effective for the systems that have used them to achieve specific goals as they developed
  • Steve Olson
  • 3,819 Reads 9 Shares
Shortly after the economic downturn descended upon us in 2008, we started seeing a few franchise brands begin to offer incentives to get units open. At the time, they were generally viewed as outliers. After all, the economy was at single-digit unemployment levels, and most business people were in denial of a long or deep recession.
  • Darrell Johnson
  • 5,067 Reads 139 Shares
Two people have figured prominently in Jerry Heath's career. The first is his father, who helped bankroll him when he started out in franchising. The second is Steve Jackson, the president of Hungry Howie's Pizza, who began mentoring Heath at an impressionable age (12).
  • John Carroll
  • 9,048 Reads 2 Shares
Aggressive growth companies measure the performance of their sales personnel just as they do their advertising. With high recruitment expenses you can't afford mediocre selling performance, which costs dearly in lost franchise deals. A policyholder survey by Prudential Insurance revealed that the greatest influencing factor in the buying process is the sales person.
  • Steve Olson
  • 3,493 Reads 7 Shares
Opening franchise units in nontraditional locations has been the domain of specialists--but not anymore. With the economy still slumping, lending still tight, and suburban expansion at a standstill, many multi-unit franchisees are exploring the viability of sites such as airports, hotels, colleges, senior centers, highway rest stops, hospitals, and military bases.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 6,705 Reads
As we continue to mine Dave Melton's book, Hire the American Dream, I thought it would be interesting to highlight a case study that demonstrates just how successful smart hiring can be. Here Melton describes his experience hiring an immigrant.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,679 Reads
When 19-year-old Atour Eyvazian fled from his native Iran in the early 1980s to escape persecution for being a Christian, he embarked on an odyssey that led through Turkey all the way to Los Angeles.
  • John Carroll
  • 4,860 Reads 23 Shares
Bashir Shams spent 28 years with one of franchising's giants. He built a successful company and a prosperous career with his multi-unit Burger King operation in Mississippi. So why would he walk away from that to team up with a relative newcomer to franchising? That's just what we asked him about his latest plans to ultimately open two dozen locations of ZIPS Dry Cleaners on the East Coast.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,726 Reads 107 Shares
New Jersey native and veteran franchisee Frank Bonanno says he learned early in life that he wanted to do something "easier" than mixing cement and carrying bricks and blocks like his contractor father
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 11,910 Reads
As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 11,923 Reads 93 Shares
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Aziz Hashim turned his back on what would have been a lucrative career in electrical engineering following college, to return to his passion for the franchise business - where he first worked during his high school years. He loved the social interactions he experienced in the food business and was drawn back to it. His very first franchise location was a KFC he opened in downtown Atlanta in 1996.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 7,010 Reads 9 Shares
Economic realities have been harsh, lenders stingy with money, and many suburban territories unavailable or overbuilt. These are just some of the reasons a few multi-unit franchisees are turning to opportunities in nontraditional locations. Many franchises have potential in places that have not historically been franchise hotbeds, like airports, hotels, colleges, senior centers, highway rest stops, hospitals, and military bases.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 4,694 Reads 70 Shares
Edvin Rajauskas and Val Kirielius have come a long way to open their first Buffalo Wings & Rings franchise location - all the way from Lithuania to be exact. The two Lithuania natives formed a partnership that has them destined for the American dream. Just last month, the two opened their first Buffalo Wings & Rings restaurant in Springdale, Ohio. They are excited about their new franchise and say growth is on their minds.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,412 Reads 75 Shares
Readers of Multi-Unit Franchisee magazine have resoundingly told us how they look forward to our annual rankings lists. So once again, working with research ally FRANdata, we've gathered the data, crunched the numbers, and formulated our annual "MU50" lists.
  • Kerry Pipes and Eddy Goldberg
  • 21,415 Reads 1 Shares
In 1998, a young Canadian attorney named Fiorenzo Bresolin traveled to Florida to work on a large real estate transaction. It wasn't long before he fell in love with the state--and its booming real estate business. The outgoing corporate lawyer went on to develop, along with partners, a 500-acre corporate park in South Florida owned by the late Mel Simon of the Simon Property Group; today he's knocking on doors to place his restaurants in some of those malls.
  • John Carroll
  • 9,291 Reads 569 Shares
Anil Yadav likes to think big. The multi-unit, multi-brand franchisee in Northern California owns 155 Jack in the Boxes and 26 Denny's restaurants in California and Texas. In fact, he's Jack in the Box's largest franchisee and he owns one of the largest privately held franchise companies in the country - which just happens to employ more than 4,000 people. Apparently, all that's not enough.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 4,077 Reads 1,023 Shares
As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities. To be considered for next month's Winner's Column, please send your Good News to [email protected]
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 11,025 Reads 93 Shares
Most prospective franchisees want financial performance information as part of their due diligence process when deciding whether or not to purchase a particular franchise. Prospective franchisees are understandably hesitant to invest thousands of dollars if they have no idea what kind of financial performance exists at the outlet or unit level. Financial performance information can be a powerful selling tool for franchisors because this information responds to a prospective franchisee's compelling need for information concerning the possible financial results of their investment.
  • Brian Schnell
  • 23,540 Reads 8 Shares
Before signing on as a multi-unit franchisee, Rob Parsons already had an insider's view of franchising, having spent time at Denny's and Popeyes working with franchisees on the real estate side. At Popeyes, Parsons worked with Jim Lyons, an industry veteran who is now chief development officer for Del Taco and Captain D's. Lyons played a key role in mentoring the young Parsons. During a five-year stretch at Popeyes, Parsons played a key role in pushing the brand's New York market from 58 to 101 locations.
  • John Carroll
  • 4,292 Reads 3 Shares
"Explain your development strategy as it relates to recruiting single-unit versus multi-unit franchisees. Do you look for both? Why or why not?" During the past five years, most franchisors have changed their concept of the ideal franchise candidate. Today larger franchisors are focused more exclusively on recruiting multi-unit/multi-brand players, rather than the single-unit operators most systems were built on. As an established, nearly 40-year-old brand, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen markets franchising opportunities toward the top-tier multi-unit/multi-brand category franchisees, while simultaneously considering single-unit candidates. We currently have more than 1,900 locations in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and 27 foreign countries.
  • Franchise Update
  • 6,799 Reads
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"If there's one thing the recent economy has taught, it's that it's more important than ever to pay attention to costs during tough times," says Neal Faulkner, a Boston-area Dunkin' Donuts franchisee with 17 locations open and two more on the way. "I say if you're still operating today the same way you were three years ago, you're either out of business or on your way there."
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 10,168 Reads
As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.
  • Franchise Update
  • 7,640 Reads 2 Shares
Today, savvy franchisors with good validation are jumping their referral sales 25 percent and more by developing aggressive, well-planned referral programs. Yet many franchise systems don't capitalize on the full recruitment potential within their networks. They appreciate the leads they receive, but don't actively promote what is the most valuable lead source in franchising. Referred prospects are as precious as gold, just waiting to be discovered in your own backyard!
  • Franchise Update
  • 3,658 Reads 1,014 Shares
Mike Pietrzyk's 37 years in the food business began auspiciously in 1972, when, as a newly promoted manager of a Burger Chef in Virginia, he was put in a store scheduled to close in 7 months. "The restaurant wasn't doing well, and they'd decided to close it," he recalls. "They just asked me to keep it together for a few more months." Pietrzyk worked seven days a week and did his own marketing, passing out local coupons and getting acquainted with the community.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 6,189 Reads 81 Shares
You've done your research. You've narrowed the list or perhaps even selected the franchise brand that you'd like to team up with. You're comfortable with the brand's market presence and name recognition; you believe it matches your skill level, that it's well-suited for your lifestyle, and that it complements your personal business goals. Now it's time to map out your entrance strategy.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 12,718 Reads 1 Shares
As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.
  • Franchise Update
  • 6,423 Reads 2 Shares
Business buyers evaluating a prospective purchase want answers to key opportunity factors. If you don't provide these answers, their relatives, CPA, attorney, or armchair advisors will! During my career I've had the enviable position of gaining insight into these major decision-making criteria, which could make or break the attractiveness of a franchisor's concept with discerning buyers. I've listened to, learned from, and consulted with hundreds of print and Internet advertisers seeking ways to accelerate their response rates. This included providing in-house creative services to increase lead generation performance. What we discovered were the critical factors that attract prospective franchisees--whether you're a $50,000 cleaning franchise or a $1 million restaurant concept.
  • Steve Olson
  • 3,641 Reads
Most families have their favorite holiday traditions, with special rituals, decorations, clothes, songs, and foods that make the holidays unique, memorable, and fun.
  • Jack Mackey
  • 4,280 Reads 29 Shares
You've cut back on as many napkins and ketchup packets as you can, reduced your maintenance costs, renegotiated with suppliers, and maximized employee efficiency (see page 68)--and margins are still razor-thin. Interested in a way to add some zeroes (000's) to those savings, without spending a dime up front? It's time to take a new look at wage-based tax credits.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 5,352 Reads 1,021 Shares
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